September 20, 2013

Attorneys for American Airlines and US Airways want the U.S. Department of Justice to turn over documents related to its analysis of previous airline mergers as part of the antitrust suit the government has filed against the two carriers.

In a filing made in federal court on Friday, the carriers have asked for a court order to compel government attorneys to produce the documents.

"DOJ seeks to prevent Defendants from learning the facts on which it approved the other four mergers." the filing said. "Having approved previous mergers and put their results at issue in this case, DOJ cannot now refuse Defendants the opportunity to understand whether and how the prior mergers’ outcomes were inconsistent with DOJ’s own analyses."

The DOJ filed an antitrust suit in August to stop the pending merger between American and US Airways, saying the merger is anti-competitive and will harm consumers with higher airfares and more fees.